Minugua Head Says Peace Process is Bogged Down

Centr-Am News, Vol.XXVI, week of Sept. 13–19
1998

Frenchman Jean Arnault, head of the U.N Verification Mission in
Guatemala, known as Minugua, warned that some aspects of the
Guatemalan peace process appear to be stagnating. The process was
begun on December 29, 1996, with the signing of the peace agreements
by the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) and the
government of President Alvaro Arzu.

There are two general themes that are bogged down, he said,
the constitutional and the economic, and from there derive
questions of the judicial system and the military. While these do not
advance, there is a debt weighing over the peace process. Arnault
explained, Financial reform is the sustenance of peace. The
agreements are a dead letter if there is no economic support, while
the changes to the Constitution offer legal support. He warned
that if no changes were made and approved by the end of this year,
such changes may take many more years to be accomplished. If the
changes are not carried out according to the pre-arranged time
schedule, said Arnault, the international community will be convinced
that the peace process has not penetrated the country.

In addition to the problems cited by Arnault, other observers cite the
problem of land distribution and ownership and the situation of the
indigenous population, more than half the Guatemalan people, as
problems that have not advanced within the peace process.

Arnault said Guatemala is going through its trial by fire and
it is to be seen if the Guatemalan people are united or divided.
If there is no consensus, he said, it will be difficult for
the areas of justice, the situation of the indigenous people and the
economic question to advance in practical terms. (La Prensa on the
Web from AFP, San Pedro Sula, 9/14/98; Agencia Informativa
Amarc-Pulsar, 9/14/98; )